April 1 USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA Rankings

With minimal MMA action this past week, the USA TODAY Sports / MMAjunkie.com MMA Rankings saw minimal movement. But one light heavyweight has made his debut on the list.

Following a unanimous-decision victory over Mikhail Zayats at Bellator 94, Season 8 tournament winner Emanuel Newton has replaced his recent opponent on his division’s honorable mention list.

Since a three-fight skid in 2009, Newton has rebounded with nine wins in his past 10 fights. His recent Bellator tourney run included a submission win over Atanas Djambazov and a stunning spinning-backfist KO of notable Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. The only loss during the streak came via split decision to Attila Vegh in a Bellator Summer Series tourney. However, Newton will get a shot to avenge the defeat when he rematches Vegh, who’s now Bellator’s 205-pound titleholder, later this year.

A number of ranked fighters are in action later this week with the UFC on FUEL TV 9 and ONE FC 8 cards. However, the biggest matchup – Alexander Gustafsson vs. Gegard Mousasi – is in jeopardy because of a facial cut the Swede suffered during a recent training session.

ranking criteria

The rankings take into account a fighter's wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.

Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they've been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.

Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they're not inactive for more than 24 months.

To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter's primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, fighters can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won't be ranked in a new weight class until they've had their first fight at that weight.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.